Gaucho wrote:I started smoking because I liked it and I quit because I didn't like it anymore. *shrug*

I know many people who've had this same experience, and I'm glad for them that it was relatively easy.

Oh, it wasn't easy and, truth be told, I quit way later than I should have. If I were one of those people than can smoke an occasional cig at parties or whatever I'd never have quit, but I was a textbook compulsive smoker and I eventually started to hate it and myself. So I quit.

Gaucho wrote:I started smoking because I liked it and I quit because I didn't like it anymore. *shrug*

I know many people who've had this same experience, and I'm glad for them that it was relatively easy.

Oh, it wasn't easy and, truth be told, I quit way later than I should have. If I were one of those people than can smoke an occasional cig at parties or whatever I'd never have quit, but I was a textbook compulsive smoker and I eventually started to hate it and myself. So I quit.

Ah, sorry...I didn't mean to sound like I was minimizing the difficulty in managing the withdrawal. Good for you, Gaucho. I'm glad it "stuck"!

i'm entering week 6 of the patch this weekend, my decision to quit had nothing to do with consequences to myself. i'm getting married, and we plan to have kids. I dont want them growing up in a smoke filled room like i did, getting told "oh stop it" when i coughed as the plume went into my face. i dont think anyone in the past 4 generations of my family didnt smoke at some point, and none of them ever had cancer.

Kaizer wrote:i'm entering week 6 of the patch this weekend, my decision to quit had nothing to do with consequences to myself. i'm getting married, and we plan to have kids. I dont want them growing up in a smoke filled room like i did, getting told "oh stop it" when i coughed as the plume went into my face. i dont think anyone in the past 4 generations of my family didnt smoke at some point, and none of them ever had cancer.

Quit a month ago. Using V2 ecigs. Haven't had a real cig since I picked this thing up. Tried the patch, tried Chantix, tried cold turkey. None of those worked, but this seems to be doing the job. Not a perfect solution, but far better than the alternative.

Kaizer wrote:i'm entering week 6 of the patch this weekend, my decision to quit had nothing to do with consequences to myself. i'm getting married, and we plan to have kids. I dont want them growing up in a smoke filled room like i did, getting told "oh stop it" when i coughed as the plume went into my face. i dont think anyone in the past 4 generations of my family didnt smoke at some point, and none of them ever had cancer.

You know, you can go outside of your own home to smoke and not stink up your house or gag your kids Best of luck anyways....never a bad idea and you'll save some bucks too.

dbizzle66 wrote:Smoking is a personal choice. There are also people who smoke all the time and don't get sick.

There are probably people who drink more than they should and yet they never had a car accident.

I agree with the "personal choice", though. Of course, once they start stinking up my personal environment with their disgusting habit, it's no longer their "personal choice" - and I have no problems chasing smokers with pitchforks all the way to their smelly homes and apartments.

That being said, I'd like the TV networks to run Terrie only *after* I finish my dinner. Until now, they always seem to hit the exact right spot when I want to enjoy my meal.

SolidSnake wrote:Getting hypnotized is a good way to stop smoking I hear.

I know 3 people who tried that route a few years ago and they are still puffing away All 3 of them came out of the hypnosis sessions and didn't even think about smoking for a month or so, and then............smoke 'em if u got 'em!

dbizzle66 wrote:Smoking is a personal choice. There are also people who smoke all the time and don't get sick.

I know some people who have quit and are sick all the time now as well. Not sure if it's a mental thing or what.

Some people have better genetics. Nicotine itself is a poison and a actually a quite powerful psychoactive drug. It probably has different effects depending on each person's brain chemistry. I read a study once that said nicotine is a physically addictive as opiates.

SolidSnake wrote:Getting hypnotized is a good way to stop smoking I hear.

I know 3 people who tried that route a few years ago and they are still puffing away :D All 3 of them came out of the hypnosis sessions and didn't even think about smoking for a month or so, and then............smoke 'em if u got 'em!

Yeah. It didn't work for me. On day 14 of just using a nicotine patch, so far so good.

Smoked a pack a day for 17 years. Used Chantix for a month and simply forgot to smoke. Ran out of cigarettes approx 3 pm 2/28/10 and haven't had a drag since. Chantix worked great! If you can quit smoking you can do anything.

My grandfather smoked at least a pack a day for 70 years and then died of kidney failure. My grandmother then proceeded to quit cold turkey after smoking for 2+ packs for 50+ years when she was admitted to a personal care facility. She died of old age.

I will NEVER smoke because the possible results are scary, but it's not cut-and-dried.

columbia wrote:Depending on where you live, the various nicotine replacement products are actually more expensive than cigarettes.That seems kind of wrong.

They possibly are.

From my understanding - and I'm the worst person to ask since I never smoked a day in my life - you are supposed to take them in stages and it's supposed to help you gradually quit as opposed to being a cigarette replacement.

Kaizer wrote:i'm entering week 6 of the patch this weekend, my decision to quit had nothing to do with consequences to myself. i'm getting married, and we plan to have kids. I dont want them growing up in a smoke filled room like i did, getting told "oh stop it" when i coughed as the plume went into my face. i dont think anyone in the past 4 generations of my family didnt smoke at some point, and none of them ever had cancer.

glad to hear that you're quitting not just for yourself but also for your current and future loved ones. just want to point out though (hopefully most people know this) that cancer isn't the only possible disease or health condition that can result from years of smoking. my mother was a pack and a half a day smoker for 40+ years. she quit in the mid 90's after her second collapsed lung. while her health improved greatly over the next 15 years (never a hint of lung cancer) the smoke in her lungs had already done it's damage. when she experienced a fall at home and broke her pelvis she was admitted to a nursing home for rehab. she contracted pneumonia and due to her already damaged lungs wasn't able to fight it off and died the day before Thanksgiving 2010. I have no doubt that if her lungs were stronger she'd still be alive.the younger you can quit the better and if you can get by without ever starting, all the better.